Thread by @benedictrogers

THREAD: I am writing this thread on "democratic values", because there is some profound misunderstanding & some utterly stupid wrongheaded thinking around which needs to be knocked on the head. Otherwise we're all in real trouble. /

Let me start which two principles:

1. Among us who defend "democratic values" around the world, NO ONE I know wishes to impose anything on anyone;

2. Supporting "democratic values" is NOT about dropping a Westminster-style Parliament or US Congress in the middle of the desert/

Instead, support for "democratic values" is about SUPPORT for those around the world who wish to live in freedom, with human dignity, without fear and with the chance to pursue their potential.

Note: it's about supporting those aspirations, NOT imposing them!/

And "democratic values" are about so much more than elections every few yrs

It's about a free, independent media, an independent judiciary, civil society, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, & the ability to hold government to account not just every few years but daily/

It's about universal human rights - as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which, as the name suggests, is universal: i.e. for everyone, everywhere, no exceptions/

And to be honest, those westerners who oppose these values and these aspirations, or think that they're not culturally appropriate for some people though they are good for us, are not "politically correct" or "woke": they're culturally racist & politically supremacist/

For does an #Afghan, #Uyghur, #Tibetan, #HongKonger, #Rohingya, #Myanmar/Burmese or Chinese feel torture, imprisonment, slavery, rape or repression any less than a westerner?

No. They don't. And so they deserve their universal human rights as much as anyone else.

So let's stop apologising for defending democratic values & universal human rights

Sure, we must learn lessons from tragic mistakes in strategy, tactics and implementation - and, far too often, withdrawal and betrayal.

But let's never apologise for standing up for freedom

Those who wish to defend dictators, you can do so - but don't hide behind some moral or cultural argument, because there ain't none.

Just be honest about your self-interest, the payments going into your pocket or your own ideological agenda.